I’m guessing Christmas shopping has already started for many and I know of some people who have put up trees already. Christmas is a nice season: it wraps up the end of the year, gives us time to contemplate, spend time with families, shop and eat. Who doesn’t like all of that? Modern Christmas is…

Air pollution in major cities in Asia exceeds the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) air quality guidelines and toxic cocktails result in more than 530,000 premature deaths a year, according to a new report issued on Tuesday. Issued by the U.S.-based Health Effects Institute, the study found that elderly people with cardiopulmonary and other chronic illnesses…

The European Commission said on Monday a proposal to limit the use of some carbon credits from industrial gas projects in its emissions trading scheme might be unveiled during a United Nations climate summit in Mexico next week. The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme is the largest multi-national emissions trading scheme in the world. The…

During the heart of the recession in 2009, CO2 emissions fell as economic activity slowed. Now that the world is seeing modest signs at recovery, the pace of economic activity has picked up and so have the CO2 emissions. According to a new study from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, the planet…

The United Nations might be the body long responsible for hosting the forum for international agreement on climate change, so it’s about time it gets its own climate house in order.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has weighed in on the health merits of caffeinated alcoholic beverages, declaring that caffeine added to malt beverages constitutes an “unsafe food additive.” That essentially makes it illegal to manufacture the beverages which currently bear vivid, youth-inspired names like Four Loko, Joose, and Max.

Bangladesh has approved a law that sets jail terms of up to 12 years for deliberately killing tigers and other wild animals endangered in the South Asian country, officials said on Saturday. A recent cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also agreed to provide reparations to the families of victims killed or maimed…

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency Saturday in Barstow after samples of the city’s water supply were found to be contaminated with a chemical used in rocket fuel and defense manufacturing. A statement on the city’s website says the Golden State Water Co. was notified Thursday that water samples showed levels of perchlorate…

Scientists have so far identified over 2 million species on planet Earth – yet American youth are less familiar than ever with plants and animals living in their own “backyard”. To reverse this trend, the Get to Know Contest is challenging young Americans (age 5-18) to get outside today and “get to know” the amazing…

Weather conditions — not UN soldiers — may have triggered Haiti’s cholera epidemic, which has killed more than 1,000 people in less than a month, three leading researchers have told SciDev.Net. A coincidence of several catastrophic events — from climatic changes caused by the ocean-atmosphere phenomenon La Niña, to the plunge in water and sanitation…